In the vehicle service business, a vehicle in need of repair (due to, for example, damage to the vehicle or a part failure) or routine maintenance (such as, for example, an oil change) is usually brought to a body shop, automobile dealer or similar vehicle service facility for corrective measures. With regard to maintenance work in particular, there are a number of tasks that must be regularly performed on virtually every vehicle, in order to keep it in proper or optimum working order (such as tire rotation; checking and filling oil, automatic transmission fluid, windshield washer fluid, coolant and other basic automotive fluid levels; checking and filling tire air pressure; etc.), and periodically to assure compliance with any applicable state and federal regulations (related to, for example, annual state registration, environmental standards, etc.).
To repair or maintain such vehicles, the vehicle service facility must have available a device, usually called a “rack” or a “frame pulling” bench, which can be expensive and can take up valuable space in a vehicle service facility. For certain tasks, some type of elevation device, such as a hydraulic lift, must be employed in order to suspend the vehicle above floor level. However, not all tasks require the use of a lift. Some may be (or must be) performed while the vehicle is at ground level, with its tires resting on the floor. For example, an oil change may be performed via a sub-surface pit or chamber, wherein the technician is positioned within the pit and the vehicle then moved above the pit so as to allow the technician, while standing beneath the vehicle, to have access to its underside. In addition, many of the steps involved in a routine annual state inspection (such as checking the headlights and taillights, for example) do not require that a lift be used.
A vehicle in need of several different maintenance tasks can be serviced by one or more technicians at a time, each performing a specific task before proceeding on to the next task, etc., until all of the desired tasks have been performed. This can be quite time-consuming depending upon the number of tasks involved. To have all of the required tasks performed simultaneously would save time, but is usually impractical because multiple technicians would have to be working on the vehicle at the same time, tending to get in each other's way and make coordination of efforts much more difficult. Aside from this, a vehicle in need of a number of tasks is not amenable to simultaneous task performance where some of the tasks require the use of a lift and some do not. Checking the headlights during a state inspection, for example, would normally take place with the vehicle on the ground, its tires resting on the floor surface. Tire rotation, however, would require the vehicle to be suspended above the ground. Thus in that situation, checking of the lights and rotating the tires would have to take place in sequence rather than simultaneously, thereby adding to the time required to service such a vehicle. Extra time is often viewed negatively by customers in need of fast service. Moreover, extra time means increased labor costs. For a service facility with only a limited number of service bays, the extra time also means being unable to service a large volume of vehicles because a vehicle cannot be brought in to the facility for service until there is an open service bay to house the vehicle. The longer the vehicles remain in the bays while being serviced, the longer it takes for subsequent incoming vehicles to be brought in to the bays and serviced.
Attempts to increase the number of vehicles that can be serviced have been made via the use of conveyor, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,973 to Cody. There, a continuously moving conveyor moving over a pit is utilized, such that vehicles may be continually placed onto one end of the conveyor and continually discharged from the opposite end. All servicing takes place while the vehicles move along the conveyor. A major problem associated with this system is that it requires the mechanics servicing a particular vehicle to walk alongside (or underneath, if in the pit) the vehicle as it travels along the conveyor while performing their particular task(s). Having to walk with the vehicle, versus standing at or around a stationary vehicle, can be much more difficult depending upon the task involved. Additionally, if a mistake is made or for whatever reason one of the technicians along the line is unable to complete his task in the time allotted, the vehicle will either pass on to the next stage in the process without the task having been completed, or the entire moving conveyor will have to be stopped so as to allow the technician in question to complete his task or rectify any mistakes. Such a stoppage temporarily prevents other cars on the conveyor (both those ahead and those behind the vehicle that necessitated stoppage) from moving further down the line. Thus but for the stoppage in the conveyor, those other vehicles which are fully serviced and otherwise ready to be moved on to the next service stage must sit idle—not to mention any upstream and downstream mechanics who must similarly remain idle. Some tasks, such as tire rotation, would be virtually impossible to perform on a moving vehicle. Lastly, this system also is designed for a continuous stream of vehicles in need of service or repair. In reality, there will be peaks of incoming vehicles throughout the day, such that there will ordinarily not be a continuous stream.
In addition to the variety of tasks that may be involved in providing automotive repair and maintenance services, vehicle bodies and frames come in many different shapes and sizes. Further, the servicing of modern automotive vehicles has become extremely complicated. Beyond the complexity of individual parts of a vehicle's drive system, the specifications for some vehicles are further complicated by the many options that are available to the vehicle owner in body style, engine size and type, transmission, and accessory equipment. Some vehicles even have different specifications depending upon the factory where the vehicle was assembled or the time in the model year when the vehicle was completed. In some cases manufacturers have changed specifications on particular vehicle engines because of design improvements, original errors or changes in regulations.
Automotive technicians or mechanics cannot be expected to be familiar with the specifications of every make and model of vehicle. Many manufacturers supply some essential vehicle specifications in readable form fixed to the vehicle. Such specifications provide identification for the vehicle and other pertinent information that will enable a person servicing the vehicle to identify vehicle and engine specifications. Nevertheless, if changes are made in the vehicle, the identification fixed to the vehicle may no longer apply. Further, if the manufacturer or a regulatory agency makes changes that apply to a particular vehicle, those changes will not be known from a reference to the specifications fixed to the vehicle. Certain specifications may be unusual or simply may not be the type that is ordinarily fixed to the vehicle. So in addition to the time spent actually servicing the vehicle, mechanics must spend time obtaining, locating and retrieving the relevant specifications for the specific vehicle they happen to be servicing at the time.
Therefore, the need exists for a system and method of servicing automotive vehicles, which increases the efficiency and the speed at which vehicles can be serviced, is capable of accommodating vehicles of all shapes, sizes, makes and models, and possesses the ability to provide a wide range of services including both those that can be done while the vehicle is at floor level and those that require the vehicle to be suspended via a lift.